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Introduction: Impaired handgrip strength is an indication for sarcopenia and frailty screening, and is associated with increased osteoporotic risks and all-cause mortality. Osteocalcin, secreted by osteoblasts, is a versatile factor that participates in bone turnover and muscle adaptation. The role of osteocalcin in muscle strength has mainly been discussed in animal models and requires more human data. The study aimed to investigate the association between the serum osteocalcin level and handgrip strength in middle-aged individuals and older adults with diabetes. Methods: Adult participants (aged 40 and above, N = 237) with diabetes were enrolled in a medical center in northern Taiwan. Subjects were divided into normal, low muscle mass without dynapenia, dynapenia without low muscle mass, and groups of low muscle mass with dynapenia according to their handgrip strength and muscle mass measurements. Physical performance, including handgrip strength, repeated sit-to-stand tests, walking speed, and short physical performance batteries, was documented. Body composition was measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis. Results: The median serum osteocalcin level was highest in the dynapenic group without low muscle mass (median [Q1, Q3], 14.1 [11.2, 16.3] ng/mL). Multivariate logistic regression showed that a higher serum osteocalcin level was associated with worse handgrip strength (OR: 3.89, 95% CI: 1.66–9.10) after adjusting for body mass index (adiposity), skeletal muscle mass index (muscle), and medication with dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor. Further sex stratification revealed a more significant association between serum osteocalcin level and impaired handgrip strength in women but not in men. The female groups showed increases in the risk of impaired handgrip strength: 4.84-fold in the osteocalcin T2 group (11.4 ≤ osteocalcin <15.0 ng/mL) and 4.54-fold in the osteocalcin T3 group (osteocalcin ≥15.0 ng/mL). Moreover, after adjusting for various confounders, 8.41-fold and 8.03-fold increases in the risk of impaired handgrip strength were observed in the osteocalcin T2 group (11.4≤ osteocalcin <15.0 ng/mL) and osteocalcin T3 group (osteocalcin ≥14.5 ng/mL), respectively. Conclusion: Higher serum osteocalcin is associated with increased risks of impaired handgrip strength and impaired physical performance. Dose-dependent associations were found especially in postmenopausal women but not in men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/purpose: Sarcopenia and decreased muscle strength (dynapenia) are emerging health issues. However, the study exploring muscle strength changes of both upper and lower limbs at the same time among all age groups is rare. This study aims to investigate the muscle strength and to establish a muscle strength norm of an ostensibly healthy non-diabetic Asian population., Methods: From 2018 June to 2020 March, subjects (aged from 20 to <80 years old) undergoing health checkup in Good Liver Medical Examination Center and National Taiwan University Hospital Geriatrics and Gerontology Department were enrolled. A battery of muscle power examinations including handgrip strength (HGS), five times sit-to-stand test (5TSTS), and one-leg standing test (OLST) were performed., Results: A total of 183 participants was enrolled, consisting of 92 females and 91 males. The finding shows the strongest HGS, best 5TSTS, and the longest OLST of both genders appeared in the 20-29-year-old group. Age, gender, and palm length are significantly related to HGS, whereas age is the only factor affecting 5TSTS and OLST. It revealed a progressive decline during ageing process, especially after age 60. Finally, Z-score and T-score norms of these were established., Conclusion: These data will be useful as normal controls for muscle strength of specific disease groups. The application of the cutoffs from these data and their comparisons with the recommended cutoffs from various guidelines worth further exploration., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Wu NM, Chiang C, LinKP, ChenYM and YangWS have nothing to declare., (Copyright © 2024 Formosan Medical Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Aim Slow gait speed has been associated with mortality, poor physical function and disability in older people. Our aim was to evaluate the association between slow gait speed and rapid cognitive decline among oldest-old men in Taiwan. Methods We carried out a longitudinal cohort study in a veterans' retirement community, and enrolled 249 male residents aged 80 years and older. Slow gait speed was defined as <1 m/s, and rapid cognitive decline was defined as a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) decline of ≥3 points over 1 year. Body mass index, Charlson's Comorbidity Index, handgrip strength, gait speed and Mini-Mental State Examination datasets were collected, and a logistic regression model was built to evaluate the association between fast cognitive decline and slow gait speed. Results In all, 249 residents (mean age 86.4 ± 4.01 years) were recruited, including 58 (23.3%) with rapid cognitive decline. Univariate analysis showed that slow gait speed could predict rapid cognitive decline (OR 4.10, 95% CI 1.20-14.00, P = 0.024). After adjusting for age, Charlson's Comorbidity Index, polypharmacy, psychiatric drug usage, cigarette smoking experience, baseline cognitive function, depressive mood, handgrip strength, nutritional status and history of fall, slow gait speed was still independently associated with rapid cognitive decline (adjusted OR 4.58, 95% CI 1.22-17.2, P = 0.024). Conclusions Slow gait speed was thus an independent predictor of rapid cognitive decline in oldest-old men in a veterans' retirement community in Taiwan. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017: 17 (Suppl. 1): 14-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]